freeallnovels Chapter 35 Facing Reality
Chapter 35 Facing Reality
The gunfire stopped.
The survivors who had escaped from their hiding places lay scattered across the street. Blood seeped from beneath their bodies, forming dark red streams that flowed along the cracks in the pavement.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and blood.
The officer in the Humvee lowered his binoculars and said expressionlessly, "Clear the road and move on."
The tank tracks rolled over the fallen bodies with a dull thud.
The sound of bones cracking was drowned out by the roar of the engine, but the vibrations that traveled through the ground to the soles of everyone's feet were more unsettling than any other sound.
Armored vehicles and Humvees followed behind, their wheels rolling over the bloodstains, leaving dark red tire tracks on the road.
The convoy sped away, heading towards its next target building.
No one looked back.
Hammer stood on the roof of the guard tower and witnessed the entire process.
He recalled himself a few days earlier, when the catastrophe struck. He too had knelt on the church floor, clutching a cross, praying to God. He thought the army would come, the government would come, someone would come to save him.
Looking back now, how naive that was.
"Let's go." Hammer jumped down from the roof. "It's time to go back."
Genova followed silently behind, her longbow slung over her shoulder, her ears twitching as she tried to catch any sounds around her.
On the way, Hammer kept thinking about one question: if he hadn't met Lin Mo, would he have been one of those people?
All I can say is that he's fortunate to have met the right person at the right time.
When the gunshots rang out from the guard tower, Lin Mo was in the Internal Affairs Hall reviewing the construction list.
The gunshots were distant and intermittent, and he paid no attention to them.
He was concerned about something else.
When will we enter the otherworld map?
Almost a day has passed since he obtained this otherworld map after clearing the Warrior's Tomb, and he still hasn't chosen to enter.
He wanted to wait until the haunted house was built, until the vampires were recruited, and until his forces were stronger.
The Serpent's Treasure, Level 1 Otherworld Map.
Inside is a separate alternate dimension, similar to the Tomb of the Warriors, but larger and more dangerous.
There are treasures and resources inside, and you might even encounter heroes in the wild.
With his current troop strength, going in would indeed be somewhat risky.
Lin Mo doesn't like taking risks; he prefers to do things only when they are absolutely safe.
Let's wait two more days!
Once there are more vampires and skeleton soldiers, he will be able to enter the otherworld map.
......
The Mexican gang has taken in a lot of people these past few days.
A week after the apocalypse, survivors hiding in various corners began to flee.
Because we ran out of food at home.
Hunger is more terrifying than monsters; it compels people to come out.
Frimendo was very satisfied with this.
Because many people joined his gang.
The more people he has, the greater his power becomes.
The larger the territory, the more resources he can plunder.
The more resources he has, the stronger his army will be.
This is a positive cycle.
Among the newcomers, several white people were highly educated. Before the catastrophe, they were financial analysts, engineers, and lawyers. They were quick-witted, adaptable, and soon grasped the basic rules of the new world.
They approached Frimendo and proposed a plan.
"Boss, we should expand our search team, send more people out, and capture more troop buildings." The speaker was Calvin, who wore gold-rimmed glasses and habitually pushed up his glasses as he spoke. "Right now we only have the Imp's Lair and the Gog's Lair, our forces are too limited. If we can capture another ranged troop building, our combat strength will double."
Frimendo sat on the sofa, a bottle of tequila in his hand. He took a sip and burped. "You're right, I've already started planning."
Calvin nodded and volunteered, "We're willing to help."
Frimendo immediately shook his head: "You? No way. Going out to explore and capture resources and buildings requires troops, but not everyone is qualified to lead troops these days. I need to consider loyalty, understand? What if one of you runs away with your troops? What will I do then?"
Calvin's expression changed slightly.
This distrust, which is not even concealed, is consistent with Frimendo's usual style of doing things.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, but seeing Frimendo's gaze, he swallowed his words back.
Frimendo is not a fool.
He survived the apocalypse not by luck, but by ruthlessness and paranoia.
The only people he trusted were his few old brothers who had followed him for over a decade.
He didn't believe any of the others.
Calvin's expression was grim when he emerged from the basement.
"How is it?" a companion named Hunter asked him.
"He doesn't trust us." Calvin lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. "He's afraid we'll run away with our troops."
"Then what should we do? I've done the analysis. Right now, as long as we have troops, it's the easiest stage to develop. If we miss this opportunity, it will be very difficult to rise to prominence later."
Calvin exhaled a puff of smoke, watching the setting sun sink behind the distant ruins: "There's nothing we can do but wait for an opportunity. When the opportunity comes, we'll do it ourselves."
......
In the sanctuary of the Church of Judgment, Margaret is presiding over a grand prayer ceremony.
Hundreds of believers knelt on the church pews, hands clasped together, praying in unison.
Margaret stood before the altar, with a huge cross behind her. Sunlight streamed in through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled shadows on her.
After the prayers, Margaret left the church with a few trusted confidantes.
On the open ground next to the shelter, a huge castle rose up.
The walls were grayish-white stone, the roof was pointed, and a huge cross hung above the gate.
The territory has been built, a level one castle.
This is Margaret's territory.
The believers witnessed this scene and fell silent.
Then, some people started cheering.
"A miracle! A miracle!"
"God bless!"
"Long live the judgment of the Church! Long live the Godmother!"
Margaret stood on the castle steps, arms outstretched as if embracing all the believers.
Her face wore a kind smile, but her eyes held no laughter, only calm calculation.
"Godmother." A follower ran over and whispered, "We've discovered a troop building two kilometers to the east. Based on our observation, it's a griffin fortress where you can recruit griffins, a level three troop."
Margaret's eyes lit up.
Griffin.
She had seen this monster before; it was an extremely ferocious unit, possessing characteristics of both lions and eagles.
Moreover, it is a Tier 3 unit, a flying unit, fast and powerful.
Its appearance is sacred and conforms to the church's "aesthetic".
With the griffin, her aerial power can overwhelm most enemies and gain her more followers.
"I will personally go and occupy it," Margaret said with a smile.
The believer turned to leave, but Margaret called him back.
"Wait a minute, is there any movement from Frimendo's side?"
"They have also recruited many people, and their influence is expanding."
Margaret nodded and said nothing more.
The believer quickly left.
Margaret turned and walked into the castle, where a regional map hung on the wall of the inner court.
She drew a circle on the map with her finger, marking the area of influence of the Judgment Church.
Then, her gaze fell to the south.
There is an unmarked area there.
Her scouts reported that there was an unidentified force there, with considerable strength, and that some people had seen them; their army was mainly composed of skeleton soldiers.
Skeleton soldiers can be considered a 'natural enemy'.
"Whose territory is that over there?" she asked.
The believer beside him shook his head, somewhat dismissively saying, "I don't know, it should be a small force!"
Margaret frowned.
"Go and investigate thoroughly."
"Yes."
......
It was only then that Frimendo learned of the disappearance of one of his close confidants, Fernando.
Fernando was one of his confidants, having followed him for over a decade, rising from a street thug to the core of the gang.
The death of such trusted confidants is a loss.
"Boss, yesterday Fernando and his men went west, saying they'd found something good and were going to investigate, but they never came back." The subordinate didn't dare lift his head when he said this.
Frimendo stood up and smashed the tequila bottle in his hand on the ground, shards of glass and tequila splashing everywhere.
"Go find him, alive or dead."